Where There's Life, There's Hope
by WTF123
Summary: When Zira so cruelly offered Kovu as her pound of flesh to Simba, what if Kovu had personally told him how abusive his mother really was towards him when he had the chance? What if he had begged to be taken away from her hurtful ways? And what if Simba felt sorry enough for Kovu to take him in so he would be raised in the Pride Lands? How would his life be different?
1. Prologue

**_Author's Note_: I would like to put this story in special dedication to three particular authors for their help and support in getting this fanfic started. I would like to thank _Autobot00001_ and _snheetah_ for helping me so well with the ideas and planning for this to the end, and I'd like to thank _white pedal_ for helping me write/come up with the opening lines here. This fanfic would not have been possible without the help of these three, and I thank them dearly for each of their support.**

**I do not own The Lion King or its characters. They belong to Walt Disney Studios, and this is strictly for entertainment purposes.**

**Enjoy!**

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><p><em>"Come, come! 'While there's life, there's hope!' as my father used to say, and 'Third time pays for all!'" <em>

_- Bilbo Baggins, The Hobbit (1937)_

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><p><span><em><strong>Prologue<strong>_

Within the vast landscapes of Africa was the dry, desolate and remote expanse that was the Outlands. The frigid winds of the early morning blew against the ground, stirring up dust where they went. The sun has not yet risen, and the sky was still dark blue with only a faint glimpse of daylight visible on the horizon, far beyond the many termite infested hills. of the place.

Nearly everything was dead. From the plants, to the dried out grass on the dry ground, to the animals that once lived there, where all that remained of them was their dry skeletons lying around. There was virtually nothing at all to eat for any of the rouge lionesses of the pride that inhabited these Outlands. There were no zebras, antelopes or hippos for them to feast upon, and there was very little water to drink from the drying riverbed. Only once in a long while would they ever find a stray animal to kill and share with one another. And more often than not, that would become extremely unpleasant extremely fast. Every single day was a hellish struggle for the pride of fourteen that lived here, even including their very queen.

Zira.

Standing against the frigid breeze of morning and upon the rocky, dusty ground that dust was stirring upon, the queen of the Outlands stared off into the north unceasingly, hardly ever blinking. She glared at what lay just at the edge of her sight, growling to herself at the mere thought of it- Pride Rock, silhouetted against the clouds and the faint rising sun in the east. Within just a mile or so of Zira's own boundaries lay one of the most prosperous, lush and peaceful kingdoms that these regions of Africa had ever known, and long ago, the pride of fourteen once lived there themselves with their leader, Scar. They were the only ones he ever showed any kindness while he was alive, Zira had been queen for a time, and Scar had essentially saved them from starvation. But after a long, bloody turn of events, Scar and many of his hyenas had been killed after the return of Simba, the rightful ruler of the Pride Lands. From Zira's point of view, her entire pride's serene home had been utterly ripped away from under their paws by Simba, who she saw as a cold-blooded tyrant for exiling them shortly before the birth of princess Kiara.

Zira closed her eyes for a moment while she thought about all this, feeling as though her blood could boil thinking about Simba. She growled louder now.

"Scar's blood is on his paws… It's on his paws and he knows it…" She said to herself, her thoughts lingering on her former mate now. She ranted to herself, "Simba was never the rightful king. If it weren't for him, we wouldn't have to be stuck in these dry, barren, disgusting, pathetic, termite-infested Outlands!"

Zira's gaze fell upon the lands around her as she said this, watching as the wind continued to pick up sand and dust from the ground and spew it through the air. She felt absolutely nothing even as it blew against her beige-colored fur and past her wide, amber eyes with pupils that shared the color of blood. The peckish queen sighed, bowing her head somewhat and catching her breath again after her little rant. Although she wouldn't admit it to herself, she knew living in these regions was slowly beginning to drive her to insanity.

Then, Zira turned her head around, and her gaze shifted to the large, decaying termite mound behind her, where her entire pride was forced to reside. The place looked like it was ready to collapse any day now, infested with termites, the walls eroding, and the cracks becoming wider every day. Taking one last look at Pride Rock in the distance, Zira scoffed and walked along the barren ground to the entrance of the termite mound. It was just as dark inside as it was on the outside right then. When the queen treaded past the opening entrance and saw her pride sleeping rather restlessly on rocks and hanging flat spaces, her eyes darted from one spot to another, trying to spot a certain pride member within the dark. She took a few steps forward, and decided that it was better to rely on her sense of smell. She sniffed the air for a certain scent, and sure enough, it didn't take long to find it. Her eyes widened slightly as she followed where her nose led her, and in less than a minute, she came across a small space in a corner, between two rocks and upon a particularly dusty spot.

In it, Zira saw her young son, Kovu, sleeping soundly with his head between his paws. His breathing seemed tame compared to usual, his black tuft of fur was tossed back against his left ear, and his brown-tinted fur seemed scruffy and somewhat unkempt like normal. Zira stood there and looked at him in the dark for a second.

Then suddenly, Zira leaned downward, raised her paw and swiftly swiped it across him, sending a bitter twinge of pain all across his right side. He immediately yelped as his mother struck him, his eyes shooting open and forcing himself to repress a loud, painful scream. Kovu moaned in discomfort, staggering where he now stood. His nightly dreams had just been ripped away from him, like they usually were on mornings like this. The cub reluctantly looked up to his mother, quivering.

"M-mother… Why did you do that?" He asked, sounding frightened.

"Get up, Kovu." Zira said sternly and immediately. "It's time to begin the day's training."

Kovu struggled to stand up on all fours. He noticed outside that the sun had not yet even risen. This was new even for him. Kovu had always been inured to such pain and being struck by his mother every morning like this, but never had she done it so early in the day.

"But it's not even morning, mother." He complained tiredly and innocently. "Please, just a few more minutes?"

Zira growled. "You _will_ get up now, whether you think it's early or not!" She snarled at her son. "You need as much time as you can to learn how to hunt and survive on your own!"

Kovu's eyes twitched, trying their hardest to stay open. But as much of an effort as they did, the young cub just couldn't keep them open for longer than a few seconds at a time.

"I said get up, _now, Kovu_!" Zira demanded.

Kovu said tiredly, "Please, mother? I… just want to sleep. I promise I'll-"

He never got a chance to finish that sentence. For as soon as Zira heard it, she impulsively roared fiercely and lunged down at him, opening her jaws. She bit down on his tail hard, making Kovu yelp again, only this time even louder. Now his eyes shot wide open, and he began to scream in protest now, his voice rising gradually. A few lionesses around the termite mound stirred uncomfortably, but none of them took any real notice. They were used to this routine by now.

"You insolent brat! No son of mine is going to defiant like this!" Zira shouted through gritted teeth. High pitched wails coming from the cub were sudden, putting him through extreme agony feeling the lioness's teeth abruptly pierce the skin of his tail. He was almost used to this type of pain by now, but it still pained him greatly every time. He couldn't tell if he was bleeding or not.

"S-stop, mother! Please!" Kovu screamed, nearing tears. "Oww, _ah_! T-that hurts s-so bad!"

Ignoring Kovu's painful pleas for her to stop, she rose her head up slightly and started walking towards the termite mound's entrance again, dragging Kovu along the ground. "You will hunt today whether you like it or not!"

Kovu unsheathed his developing claws and ripped them into the dirt, clawing the ground in an effort to break away from the grip of Zira's teeth. But it did no good. His body slid across the dirty, bug-infested ground as he futilely reached for his spot in the mound, squealing in pain the whole time. At that moment, Kovu felt utterly miserable.

Soon enough, Zira had reached the outside, where it was still very early in the morning. Carelessly dragging her son by his tail no longer, she leg go of him and stood above him for just a moment, watching as her son gripped his tail with his paws to try and ease the pain. She scoffed.

"You will come with me on a hunting lesson _now_, Kovu." She ordered sternly. "These lands are scarce in food. We need every bit of effort we can get if we are to survive."

Kovu looked up to her, trying to ignore the lone tear that ran from his left eye now. "But mother… " He started.

"No arguing!" She interrupted. "You are going to come with me and that's final!"

Kovu bowed his head. Then, just a few seconds later, Zira perked up at the sound of a voice coming from the termite mound.

"Mother? What's going on?"

It was Vitani, Kovu's sister, and only trusted ally. She was slightly older than him, but she certainly didn't look it. Kovu turned around and watched as Vitani came over to them, rubbing her eyes with her right paw in the early dawn. She had a look of horror on her face when she saw the small trails of blood on Kovu's tail.

"What are you doing to him now?" She asked worriedly, glancing at her brother for a moment.

Zira glared at Kovu. "Your brother is being defiant, Vitani." She answered. "He refused to join me on the morning hunt, so I had to get him out here the hard way."

Vitani's mouth fell open in shock. "But that's not fair!" She protested. "No one's ever hunted this early before!"

Zira's eyes widened in anger, bringing her face down closer to the female cub. Vitani flinched in fear. "Are you going to defy me as well?!" Zira demanded. Vitani quivered. "N-no, mother, not at all! It's just not fair that-"

Vitani never got to finish that thought. For right at that moment, Zira unsheathed her claws again, brought her paw up and swung it upon Vitani with all her might, making her howl in pain as she was brutally shoved into the dirt. Kovu gasped when Zira struck her, taking a step back in fright. Zira struck Vitani hard enough for her to lose her footing and fall against the ground, stirring up more dust in the wind around her. She whimpered, trying not to scream.

"You stay out of this, Vitani!" Zira shouted, her paw still in the air. "You don't decide what's fair and what's not fair here, _I_ am the pride leader! _Me_, I decide what's right! And I say Kovu needs to learn now so he can hunt and we don't starve to death!"

Vitani started to cry.

"Do you want all of us to die of starvation, Vitani?! Do you?!"

The cub just barely managed to shake her head 'no' against the ground, putting her paws over her face and burying her head into them, not even caring about the fresh slash marks on her shoulder now as they bled onto her body. "No..."

"Good!" Zira shouted, turning back to Kovu, who had his mouth hanging open in shock. He turned away from Vitani and shut his eyes tightly, not wanting to see his sister in such agony. He cringed at the sounds of her sobbing.

"Now we'll have no more of this defiance from either of you!" Zira went on. "Kovu! Let's go now before the sun rises."

She started to walk off, expecting her son to follow. The young, brown pelted lion was in utter shock and dismay. He was used to his mother being hard on him and Vitani, but never like this. This was the first time he ever saw Zira hurt Vitani right in front of him, and now there she was, sobbing like her life was already over. And in some respects, he felt the same way. Zira didn't even hit him terribly often, and when she did, it was never that hard before. His eyes opened to see her once more. So far, this was already turning out to be the worst day of his short life.

"Come on, there's no time for delay!" Zira said again, snapping Kovu out of his thoughts. She stopped walking and looked back to him to see that he didn't follow. He looked up to her and stared into her red, amber eyes for a moment. Suddenly, however, he grew an infuriated look on his face, surprising Zira somewhat.

"No." He said firmly, making both his mother and his sister gasp suddenly.

"Kovu…"

"No!" He shouted again, this time louder. "I don't want to! Vitani needs my help!"

He darted over to his sister and gently put a paw over Vitani's bleeding slash marks, trying to wipe away some of the blood. "Are you okay, Vitani?" He asked fearfully. The cub looked up to her brother, her eyes already bloodshot. "Y-yeah. Thank you, K-… Kovu…" She stuttered through tears.

Zira snarled loudly, coming back up to him. "All right then, if that's how you're going to be to the one who loved and raised you, Kovu, then perhaps it's time for a lesson of a different sort today!"

The lioness forcefully came over to him and raised her paw and claws again, this time fully prepared to strike them both together. She roared.

"Zira, what are you doing?! Stop!" Suddenly cried another voice.

Startled, Zira's claws retracted and looked back over to the termite mound with wide eyes, this time seeing her only other son, Nuka, running over to them at full speed. His dull, grey-brown fur was greasy and scruffy-looking like usual, and his developing mane was still a mess like always. But still he ran, his eyes focused on his two younger adopted siblings. He cried out again,

"Stop it! Stop it, now!"

He darted up to her and grabbed onto her raised paw, stopping her from moving it downwards. He forced it away with his teeth barred, making Zira roar at him now. Nuka stepped away from her, ignoring the fact that Zira looked like she was ready to kill him now.

"What do you want?" She asked carelessly. Nuka gave his mother a stern look.

"Mother, this is going too far!" He said firmly. "You can't expect them to hunt so early! They're kids!"

Zira scoffed. "Don't be a fool, Nuka, I was only asking Kovu to hunt! Not Vitani."

"You know what I mean!" He argued. "This whole thing is going way too far! How could you hit your own cubs like that, adopted or not?! No mother of anyone should be allowed to do that!"

From nearby, Kovu and Vitani watched this go on with their eyes wide, feeling absolutely dumbfounded. Neither one of them had ever seen Nuka act like this before. Usually he never paid much mind to either of them, and Kovu knew for a fact that his brother was deathly jealous of him for being chosen to be Scar's heir, despite not being his son. But now here Nuka was, calling Zira out on their suffering for the first time. When that happened, that was when Kovu officially knew that today was going to be a very different day than usual indeed.

"They must learn, Nuka!" Zira argued back. "How else is our pride to survive?"

"Not like this!" Nuka protested again, glancing at Vitani as she stopped sobbing for a moment. "Here, why don't I handle them for now?"

Zira raised an eyebrow at her oldest son now. "What? You?"

"You go on your hunt, and I'll take care of them until you get back, okay? I can watch them."

There was a long moment of silence that came to pass after this, broken only at first by the soft breeze of dawn. Nuka noticed that the sun was starting to rise in the east, lighting the lands around them at last as the dark blue skies and clouds gradually turned to that of light pink and red. Nuka could tell that Zira was in deep thought about something, most likely involving either Scar or Simba. Kovu and Vitani both decided to stay quiet just to avoid starting any more trouble, feeling absolutely terrified for what could happen to their older brother now.

Soon, Zira chortled, her face loosening up at last. She took a deep breath. "Under your care, they'd probably be dead before the sun comes up."

Nuka persisted. "I can take care of them, mother! Trust me! Just because dad didn't choose me to be heir doesn't mean I can't do anything!"

He took a moment to catch his breath. "And besides, you said it yourself: Someone needs to hunt before the sun comes up. It might as well be you since you're out here."

Following another moment of quietness, Zira bowed her head.

"Very well, Nuka." She said reluctantly, her tone softening. "Never let them out of your sight, and be certain to teach Kovu his fighting techniques for the day."

Nuka nodded, even though he had no intention of doing that last part. "Yes, mother."

"Good." She said, moving her face in closer to his now. Her tone slowly got more and more tense again as she finished. "I will be hunting in the grasses near the river. If you lose either Kovu or Vitani… I may very well reunite you with Scar like you wanted…"

With a last heavy breath and her eyes wide at Nuka's terrified look, Zira turned around and gave an utterly malevolent look to Kovu and Vitani, who were still quivering in fear as she walked past them. Heading in the direction of the drying river that marked their boundaries, she soon disappeared from their presence at last. Nuka watched her walk off with scorn apparent on his face. Sighing, he closed his eyes for a moment and walked over to Kovu and Vitani, who both carefully stood up and looked up to him with absolutely shocked looks on their faces.

"Nuka…" Vitani started. The lion interrupted.

"Are you guys okay?" He asked them earnestly. Kovu shook his head as his sister's posture drooped in pain. "Vitani's hurt real bad." He answered. Nuka nodded.

"Yeah, I know, little termite." He said to Kovu. Vitani put her paw over the slash marks on her shoulder, pressing her foreleg against her chest in addition. She cringed.

"I'll take care of her."

Then, as Vitani moved her paw again to wipe away the tears from her eyes, Kovu turned to her, glancing at her slash marks. They didn't seem as deep as he thought they were.

"Vitani?" He said, getting her attention. "Why does mother hate us?"

Vitani bowed her head. "She doesn't hate us, Kovu. She's just mad."

"Yes she does." Kovu replied, his voice sounding soar from the screams he uttered earlier. "She hurt us real bad, how can she love us? She made you act weird too, Nuka!"

They could hear that the child was near tears, with his words sounding heavier with each one. This time, both Nuka and Vitani came up to the cub to comfort him as best as they could. Vitani put her paw on his back, while the older lion kneeled down to face him eye-to-eye.

"Listen, Kovu" Nuka started. "I… I know I'm not usually like this. You're probably just used to hearing me call you names and pushing you around like I do. But… even I can't let her go this far you."

Vitani then began in a comforting voice, trying to ignore the pain in her shoulder, "Hey Kovu?"

The cub turned to his sister, trying his best not to burst into tears of sadness. She said, "It… it was really cool of you to stand up for me like… like that earlier."

Kovu reluctantly and slowly nodded. "Thanks, Vitani." He replied sadly.

Then, bowing his head in despair with his ears drooping, Kovu sighed. "I want to go for a walk now." He muttered. Nuka looked over to him again. "W-well sure, Kovu. Where do-?"

Kovu cut him off. "No… I want to go by myself. I want to think about some things on my own."

It took a moment for either of them to respond, and the wind was the only thing keeping this moment from being both silent and motionless. "But… but Kovu, mother said I can't let you go." Nuka finally said. "What if you-?"

"I won't go far." Kovu cut him off, his tone sounding sad. "I… I just want to be alone right now."

Nuka and Vitani exchanged uncomfortable glances. "You promise you won't go too far off, Kovu?" Nuka asked concernedly. The cub nodded, and the teenaged lion sighed.

"Okay then… go ahead, little termite."

And with a sigh, he turned away with a deepening heart, and no more words to say. Vitani felt as though she wanted to say one last thing to him before he was to depart, but she decided against it seeing as though he wanted to be alone. He went off into the northward direction, heading for the river. As Kovu walked away from his two siblings, he started to feel his eyes moisten, and soon enough, he began to sob to himself quietly.

From behind, Nuka simply looked down to Vitani, sighed, and whispered to himself,

"Poor kid…"

Kovu treaded into the unknown (To him, at least) for quite some time, feeling as though he were walking in circles at one point. As he wandered aimlessly around the edges of the Outlands, he thought many things to himself as he tried his best to stop crying. Zira had always told him that crying was a sign of weakness, but at that moment, he didn't care. All his life, the cub had known almost nothing but cruelty. The feeling of pain inflicted by Zira was something he was becoming inured to, but never to the extent that he had seen that morning.

_What was it that made mother so mad?_ He thought. _She's never been that angry before._

Kovu took deep breaths while he walked, looking around him to see all of the dead trees, decaying skeletons and distant mountain ridges that surrounded the place. From above, the sun was rising quickly, and soon, the sky was turning to that of a pleasant blue like it normally was. But it didn't help much to mask the barren lands he lived in.

Then, the cub had reached the river that marked the boundary between the Outlands and the Pride Lands. He didn't come here very often, so he took little notice of the fact that he had wandered into the heart of a bog. Feeling weary, Kovu sat down beside a fallen tree that spanned the shallow, murky river, and heaved a heavy sigh.

Although his brutal lifestyle had always been etched firmly into his mind by then, Kovu was certain that the way Zira did things was wrong. He knew it couldn't be right. She had always talked about how king Simba was a heartless killer across the river, but each day that passed, it seemed more and more like Zira was in fact the very thing she described Simba as. The cub remembered that, not a week before, he was trying to get a drink from this very same river, or at least what remained of it. Zira had demanded that he stop so he doesn't take more than what he was told to, but he insisted to his mother that he drink for just a little longer. As a result, Zira had actually gripped onto his head and forced it under the water, nearly drowning him. All because he drank more water than he was supposed to, when really, it was far less than that. And that wasn't the first time she had nearly killed him over something minor either, as he recalled.

Then, upon remembering this particular act of cruelty, it happened. Something in Kovu's mind snapped. His tears ceased, and his face changed from sadness to that of infuriation. It was clear to him that if Zira was willing to almost kill him just to teach him a "lesson", she really didn't love him. Not to mention after the display she had put on this morning, he knew that was the last straw.

_This can't be right…_ He thought. _None of it can._

His teeth became barred. He was sick of it. Sick of Zira's abuse. Sick of watching his sister and his brother be tortured all their lives. He was sick of his mother glorifying Scar every day, he was sick of the blazing hot grounds he had to walk on, he was sick of having almost nothing to eat and nothing to drink, and most of all, he was sick of being forced to put up with such cruelty day in and day out, all because he had been the chosen heir of someone he had never even met in person. For all he knew, Zira could've been lying about Scar ever doing that at all, and she just wanted him to be a killer herself. And he would've been willing to bet his very life right then that Simba wasn't even the tyrant that she said he was. Even if he was a bad king like she said, his kingdom had to have been better to live in than his.

"At least the Pride Lands have green growing in them!" He said aloud to himself, his voice echoing to the dead trees around him.

Then, the cub sighed heavily, trying to calm his nerves. "I've had it with everything." He said. "I don't want to live here anymore. I don't _want_ to be a killer."

He wondered exactly what the Pride Lands looked like beyond this river. He had never seen any of the savannas, trees or kopjes that lay ahead, so naturally, he grew suddenly curious. Kovu turned and looked to his right, staring off into what he could see of the tall, green grasses from there with his eyes wide. He stared off in wonder. Even from there, the place looked like heaven compared to where he and his pride lived; So full of life and so full of hope. How could the Pride Lands look like that if Simba was anything like the tyrant Zira made him out to be? Silently, Kovu wished with all of his heart and all of his soul that he could just have one chance to see what the Pride Lands were really like. He just desired a chance to live away from the brutal lifestyle he was so inured to. He didn't want it to be like that. The cub had always wanted to live a life where he didn't have to be mean to earn his mother's love, didn't have to train to kill every morning, or put up with watching his loved ones suffer like he did that morning. And to him, it looked like the Pride Lands could very possibly offer that. He prayed for a chance to live a kind, peaceful life. Just a single sign and a single chance. That was all he wanted.

Just one chance.

Then, without warning, he abruptly felt someone or something knock into him from the left, off of the fallen tree he was sitting near. Startled from the sudden jolt, he tumbled across the ground and fell flat on his stomach from the impact, knocking him off-guard. He softly yelped when he did. After taking a moment to recover and moan in minor pain, he immediately stood up and growled at the one who had knocked into him. It was on impulse since he was accustomed to doing that to anyone who hit him like that. In front of him now stood another cub, most likely from the Pride Lands. It was a female one, with a light tan pelt, brownish-red eyes, and a red-tinted tail tip. She looked scared of him since he growled at her. Having his stance etched into his mind thanks to Zira, Kovu took a few steps up to her and said as intimidatingly as he could,

"Who are you, Pride Lander?"


	2. Chapter I

**Chapter I**

"You know the penalty for returning to the Pride Lands!"

"But the child does _not_!"

It was amazing for Kovu just how fast things could go so wrong, even with the morning he had just endured.

The cub that accidentally knocked into him turned out to be Simba's own daughter, named Kiara. Soon after meeting her, they were both very nearly killed by the wild alligators that lived in the misty waters of the bog they were in. Narrowly escaping them, Kovu had briefly been able to tell that the way Kiara acted was strange, yet well-meaning. She didn't seem at all like the horrid, bratty shrew Zira said she was, nor did she ever say or do him any wrong after she knocked into him. In fact, the princess had actually saved his life from the alligators minutes before. She seemed playfully nice to him, really, and he was actually beginning to warm up to her frisky personality.

But before Kovu could ask her any questions (Namely about why she was there in the first place), her father had shown up looking like he was out for blood. As fate would have it, Zira did also. She happened to be hunting in the grasses nearby when she spotted Kovu trying to befriend Kiara, and before either of the two cubs knew what was happening, Simba and Zira were at a tense stand-off happening right in front of them, with four other Pride Lander lionesses accompanying Simba. One of which was even Nala herself, his queen, and beside her were Simba's two childhood friends, the warthog and meerkat that were Timon and Pumbaa. Kovu stared at them all with wide, petrified eyes, shaking visibly.

This had all happened in the span of only a few minutes, though Kovu was still trying to comprehend it all. He gazed up in fear at king Simba at first, not having a clue as to what to expect from him or what he was really like. But soon, he felt his fright begin to die down when he watched his confrontation with Zira go on, vaguely hearing something about a pound of flesh of some was the first time Kovu had ever seen the king of Pride Rock in person, but oddly enough, he wasn't nearly as afraid of him as Zira made him think he'd be. He was certainly just as imposing as she said he was, that was for sure, but Kovu could see that he was very protective of Kiara and did seem to genuinely care for her. That was already more than he could say for his own mother. He managed to figure that he was only acting rashly right then because his daughter had nearly been killed. In a way, he understood why he was verbally at Zira's throat right then.

At first, Kovu thought Simba was going to do something bad for having both him and Zira apparently trespass onto his land. He knew coming here was a bad idea. Something in the pit of his stomach didn't feel right when he first went into the grasses with Kiara, and now he knew why. But then, while the cub was lost in his thoughts and only barely paying attention to anything around him, he suddenly shivered upon hearing what Zira said next.

"However…" She started, her tone sounding odd. "If you _need_ your pound of flesh…"

He shook his head and looked up behind her, watching as she took a step up to him. She had an unsettlingly devious look on her face when she did, still glaring at Simba. She kneeled down to him.

"Uhh.. m-mother?" He whimpered quietly. "What are you-?"

And then, it happened. The moment that would essentially change everything, and alter the course of Kovu's life forever.

"…Here."

Without so much as a moment's hesitation, Zira used her snout to push Kovu against the ground and put him directly up to king Simba, where he sat in his shadow now. He nearly screamed when he did, his blood feeling as though it had just turned to ice from what Zira just did. Simba looked briefly looked down upon him as he sat there, trembling in dread. He looked just as lost as the cub did right then.

_Pound of flesh_, he thought._ Pound of…_

He got it now. Kovu understood what was happening. He vaguely heard Simba say that the penalty for returning to the Pride Lands was a pound of flesh, and only after that did Zira push him forth through the grass. He finally made sense of it.

Zira was using him to save herself.

Kovu's emerald-green eyes were wide open in pure fear. His muscles tensed, he felt his whole face become hot, his heartbeat raced, and he shook with terror as he vocally quivered. Kovu had never felt so scared or betrayed in his entire life. Here Zira was, giving up her own cub just so she could get Simba away from her for the time being. At first he trembled at the thought of Simba suddenly taking him and ending his young life right there as Zira said he'd be cruel enough to do. But then, his eyes grew wider still when he saw that Simba did not take him. As a matter of fact, he looked up at Zira with an utterly disgusted look on his face, completely unable to believe Zira had just tried to do what she did. She gave him a devilish smile.

_Your move, Simba _She thought.

And then, something in Kovu's mind snapped.

First she had abused him for as long as he could remember. Then she nearly killed him over the littlest of things, that morning included. But this? Tossing him out to die in front of her worst enemy, leaving him to die? It almost seemed to confirm exactly what the cub had suspected the morning before: Zira didn't love him. No mother, no matter how insane, could ever go as far as to leave their child to die like this, let alone push them into it. He realized that Zira truly was the wrong one to raise him, Outlands or no Outlands. He knew Simba couldn't be this bad. He just couldn't have.

And then, something began to echo through Kovu's mind. Something he himself had thought only minutes ago.

_Just one chance… Just one chance._

The thought struck him like a clawed swipe directly to the face. He had prayed for an opportunity to just be in the Pride Lands for one day, and now here he was in front of Simba himself, offered to by Zira. He understood. This was his chance. This was the hope he had prayed for, appearing right in front of him. Kovu realized that his thoughtful prayers may have just been answered. He just needed to take that chance and make it happen now.

This was his chance. His one chance.

Kovu's eyes twitched as he struggled to form words. Simba opened his mouth to say something else now, but before he could, he heard Kovu start to mewl loudly, making both him and Zira look down to him now as he shook.

And then, Kovu began to cry. Right there in front of his mother who had just tossed him aside like he was a play-thing to her, he shut his eyes tight and bawled his heart out for all to see. Tears fell down his face for the second time that day as his posture collapsed, and once this happened, both Simba and Zira did a double-take. Neither one of them had expected him to do this.

"S-Simba!" He shouted through his sobs. "Ple-…p-please! Help me!"

He fell to the ground on his stomach, his paws reaching out for Simba as he watched in shock at what he was doing. By now, all four of the other lionesses had taken notice of what was going on, and they all came up beside Simba to get a good look at the scene. Even Timon and Pumbaa seemed to be in shock, to say nothing of how Kiara looked as well.

"Kovu, what are you doing?!" Zira demanded, coming up to him now. Kovu ignored her as best as he could and continued.

"T-take me, Si-Simba!" He sobbed loudly, his cried echoing around them. "I don't want…. to l-live with my m-mother anymore! She hurts us s-s… so bad! Mother doesn't l-love us at a…all!"

Zira's mouth opened as she gasped, before her teeth bared suddenly upon hearing her son's words, realizing what he was doing. "Kovu, you stop this right now!" She screamed heartlessly. "We'll have no more of this, you little-"

"_Shut up_!" He unexpectedly screamed back at her, making Zira flinch. She growled intensely at him.

"Kovu…" Simba finally began, seeing this go down. "What are you talking about?"

The cub cried, with his voice sounding soar, "I-I want to live with y-you in the Pride Lands, king S-Simba! Please! Mother doesn't… doesn't love me anymore! She… she makes me hunt for food the second I w-wake up, she hit-…hits me all the time, she doesn't let… me s-sleep! She yells at me for… for not killing the mice! I don't w-want to hurt anyone, S-Simba! I don't want to k-kill! Please! She doesn't… l-love me! You have to help me! Please!" And there, he simply broke down in tears again, covering his eyes with his paws and falling to the ground on his side. Simba's eyes widened in distress as he listened to Kovu's story, giving him a look of utter pity. It was nothing short of misery having to watch this poor cub grovel before him and beg with all his heart to be taken away from his mother. He couldn't believe what he was hearing or seeing at all.

The king thought to himself_, Did… did I cause this? He's only out there with her because of me… I did this. Oh father, what should I do?_

Simba, giving him a sympathetic look, leaned down to him and asked softly, "Kovu… Is this true? Zira really does all of this to you?"

The cub nodded. "Yes!" He shouted sadly. "She does it to me, my sister, my brother, and everyone else too! She… she almost k-killed us this m-morning, when the sun w-wasn't even up! I d-don't want to live there anymore!"

Suddenly, Nala spoke up. "That's terrible! She shouldn't have the right to do that to anyone, let alone her own cubs!"

"You stay out of this, Nala!" Zira hollered.

Standing beside her father's front leg, Kiara was horrified at what was happening before her very eyes, and how her new friend was now pleading to live with them. Her mouth fell open, and her ears drooped in sadness. She hadn't even met this cub five minutes ago, and already she had caused him to do this all because she wanted to sneak out. Kiara wished that she had just stayed on the path now, for it utterly pained her to see anyone at all like this. The princess felt awful. She knew she was at least partly to blame for this. She looked ready to cry herself now as she took a step forth. Kovu glanced at her for just a brief moment.

"I'm sorry…" Kiara whispered to him.

Beside the princess, Nala also listened intently on what Kovu was saying, and she could just see the sincerity in his bloodshot eyes. Soon, once he stopped speaking and started to sob to himself, Nala looked up to Zira and gave her the dirtiest glare she had ever given. She looked thoroughly revolted at what she was making her own son do, and she growled at her for it seconds later.

"Some mother you are." She softly said, half to herself and half to Zira. Hearing this, however, the Outsider queen roared in front of all of them, startling the Pride Landers immensely. Then, she forcefully put her paw out and gripped onto Kovu, making him mewl in fear again. She made sure to unsheathe her claws and dip them into his skin, making him yelp.

"You've _really_ done it this time, Kovu!" She shouted through gritted teeth. "You will have nothing to do with these Pride Landers, or so help me I will kill you where you stand!"

She furiously struck his side with her other paw, making the Pride Landers jump in shock, confirming that everything Kovu had told them was indeed true. Kovu screamed in pain, ignored completely by his mother. Simba and Nala both cringed.

"You're an idiot for telling them about this, Kovu! A blithering idiot! You're no better than Nuka, it's none of their business what I do!"

She shoved him off to the ground for a moment, clearly enraged at him. She fumed through her breathing as she watched Kovu wail of sadness. Then, she looked back up and screamed at Simba, "You will not get involved in our affairs, Simba! You leave my cub alone, and _maybe_ I'll leave yours alone!"

There was a brief moment of silence that came to pass. Simba felt the sensation of a soft breeze through the air, and as it did, he knew he had to do something. He couldn't just stand by and let this happen on his own land, especially when his own daughter was watching. He gritted his teeth in uncertainty.

"Poor kid…" The lion heard Timon mumble to Pumbaa from behind.

But then, just as Zira carelessly reached for Kovu to drag him back home, Simba's impulse finally took over. He knew what he needed to do to end this poor child's suffering at last. Without anyone expecting it, the king quickly reached out his own paw, gripped onto Kovu firmly (yet gently), and pulled him up to him. It happened slowly, and the cub gasped when he did it. Nala's eyes widened, and the other three lionesses's mouths opened in shock. Even Timon and Pumbaa seemed caught off-guard by their friend's action. Simba had just taken Kovu.

Zira had a look of utter confusion for a moment before she glared at Kovu again. "What the-? Simba… Give Kovu to me! Now!" She demanded. Simba narrowed his eyes, grew an absolutely disgusted look at her, and he answered as firmly as he could,

"No. Never."

Zira gasped, taking a few steps back in shock. "What?! Just what do you think you're-!?"

"You're not going to hurt this cub any longer, Zira… He's coming to live with us at Pride Rock."

Zira gaped for a moment. "What?! You can't do that!"

"Simba", Nala started. "What are you doing?"

The queen's mate looked over to her with sharp eyes. "Something I should've done a long time ago, Nala."

Immediately, Zira became outraged. She figured out what Simba was doing now, and to say that it angered her would've been a gross understatement. She barred her teeth, growled, and took another firm step forward, making Kovu hide his face against Simba's fur in fear.

"Y-you can't do this! You will _not_ be taking my son, Simba!" She screamed. "You have no right to-!"

"You're on _my_ land, Zira!" Simba angrily cut in, his voice rising suddenly. "You've put your cub through too much, and I never would've known about any of it if it weren't for him! Now as long as he's here, he will _not_ be harmed! Especially by you!"

Kovu was absolutely stunned at what Simba was saying. No heartless tyrant would ever do something like this just for him. He glanced over to Kiara, who was curled up against herself in fear of Zira's outbursts.

"No… no!" Zira bellowed, tensing herself up. "You'll have Kovu over my cold, dead paws!"

And then, Zira leaped forth to attack, making Kovu scream in fear. Even with Simba holding onto him, he knew he wasn't safe from his own mother. And so, Kovu duck his head deep into Simba's fur, preparing for the worst.

But the worst never came for him.

Just as Zira was about to attack, Nala lunged forth on instinct and blocked Zira from her mate, dragging her down to the ground in the process. Seeing what was happening, Nala and Zira began to suddenly claw at each other fiercely.

"Nala!" Simba shouted in horror.

"Mom, no!" Kiara shouted to her mother.

Seeing that the situation was escalating quickly, the other three lionesses took action and ran over to Nala, helping her to fight off Zira. She showed no mercy to any of them, clawing and biting at their necks, their faces, and their eyes. Nala could feel her skin get pierced several times, but she took hardly any notice of it. Simba was about to lurch forth like she did, but when she saw this, the queen shouted,

"Simba, stay there! Keep Kovu safe!"

Reluctantly, the lion did what she wanted. He knew he had to keep the cub under protection if he was going to follow through with what he knew he had to. He gently put his other paw upon his head, stroking the black tuft of fur on it gently. "Don't worry, Kovu…" Simba said. "We're here for you."

Soon after the quarrel started, Zira had effectively fought off all of the lionesses except for Nala, who she was biting at with no mercy. Dust flew up into the air as she tried to push her forth onto the ground and deliver the final blow. But not a second too late, Nala used her back legs to push and then flip Zira over, where she had her pinned, just as she had done on many occasions with Simba before. The malicious lioness tried to fight it and get her off, but it was no use; Nala was too strong for her at the moment. The queen brought her face in close to Zira's, making her eyes widen in sudden fear. Nala's sapphire-blue eyes seemed sharper than they ever did to her.

"Kovu is coming with us, Zira!" She spat. "You don't deserve him, you never did! Look at the poor cub, he's miserable because of you!"

Zira snarled back, "Don't tell me what to do, Nala! Remember that _you_ were the one who exiled us in the first place, this is _your_ fault! Kovu is my son, and I will do what I like with him! I love him!"

Then, out of nowhere, another one of the lionesses who accompanied Simba ran up to her, growling in anger. She unsheathed her claws and gripped them around Zira's neck, prepared to slash it and end her life at any moment now. Zira gazed over in fear when she felt the random lioness prepare for it. Even Nala appeared caught off-guard. Zira gulped and, for the first time in her life, cowered as she listened to this Pride Lander's sudden rant through gritted teeth.

"That's a lie! You wouldn't know true love if it clawed you in the face, you shrew! And don't try to blame this on us, Zira! You're on _our_ land, and you'll do exactly what we say! Simba and Nala exiled you for a reason and you _know it_! Even if we did, you didn't need to treat anyone like this, let alone your own children! What kind of sick mother do you think you even are?! With you they'd probably be dead before they even reach adulthood!"

The lioness paused for only a second to catch her breath, not noticing that Nala's sapphire blue eyes were wide with shock at what she was saying.

"Leave our kingdom right now, or so help me to the Great Kings, it's going to take a _lot_ more than a pound of flesh to get out of this one!"

Kovu struggled to stand up, feeling a newfound sense of faith hearing this lioness of Pride Rock do this for him so soon after first meeting her. And then he looked over to Nala, who still had Zira pinned beneath her. Was this truly the tyrant, heartless queen that Zira had spoken of? Her of all lionesses, who seemed to care so much for her pride and an Outsider cub she had only just met?

Eventually, Zira tightly shut her eyes and took a deep breath. She knew she had no other choice but to leave. If she wanted any chance at avenging Scar in the future, she couldn't have her life ended right there, nor could she leave Nuka or Vitani in the care of the other lionesses in her pride (Mainly because she didn't trust them to do it). Reluctantly, and with her whole body shaking, she stood back up as Nala finally got up off of her, never taking her eyes off of the Outsider lioness just in case she should attack again. The dust around them from the quarrel began to settle. All four of the Pride Lander huntresses were glaring at her, expectedly enough. Zira stood there in the dirt for a moment, took one last look at Kovu, and eventually scowled up to the king.

"This isn't over, Simba." She said, her voice sounding menacing. "You'll see. One day, I'll have Kovu back in my paws, and when I do, I'll finish training him to kill every last one of you!"

_Good thing you'll never have that chance, then,_ one of the lionesses thought to herself.

Zira turned away, preparing to run off at last. But just before she did, she screamed as loud as her lungs would allow, "_Some heir you are, Kovu_!"

And with that, the heartless lioness bolted off into the grass, heading back for the Outlands across the river. They heard her ranting to herself as she did, and it took a while for the sounds of her running and fuming to subside. Then, silence fell upon the place when the last of the dust calmed. It was all over. Zira was gone now, and the young, brown cub finally lifted his head out of Simba's fur to see once he stopped hearing her voice. He looked up to the king with tears in his eyes.

"Wh… what happened?"

Simba glanced over to Nala, who looked very weak right then. She sighed.

"Zira's gone, Kovu." She answered him. "She can't hurt you anymore."

As soon as she said this, Kovu's tears almost seemed to disappear completely. He couldn't believe it. It felt as though a great shadow had just been lifted from his life, and that a lifelong wound was healed by the Great Kings themselves. He was no longer with Zira. Kovu let go of Simba's paw, stood up and walked forth, surrounded by the four lionesses who had just fought off Zira. None of them knew what to say.

"You said you wanted to come with us, Kovu?" Said Simba from behind, making Kovu look back to him. The cub nodded, prompting the lion to finally smile at him a few seconds later.

"Well then… consider it done, Kovu."

His eyes widened in shock. He had to be dreaming. He knew he had to have been. Never before had he experienced a miracle such as this, and now here it was happening before his very eyes.

"Am I… am I a Pride Lander now?" He asked the king quietly. As an answer, Simba walked over to him, kneeled down and placed his paw on his back, stroking it gently.

"Absolutely, Kovu. You're one of us now."

And then, Kiara suddenly leapt forth, her impulse taking over right then as well. She went over to Kovu and looked at him for a moment, not having a clue as to what to say or do. His emerald green eyes stared intently at her.

"Kovu…" She started to her new friend. But just then, Kovu abruptly leaned into her and rested his head on her shoulder, pulling her in with his paws for a tight embrace. He began to cry again as he did, only this time, he wept tears of joy. His prayers had just been answered. He was a Pride Lander now.

"Thank you, Kiara…" He wept. "Thank you for f-finding me. You're... you're the best!"

Soon the princess returned the embrace, and the two cubs began to tightly hug one another there for all to see. Kovu licked Kiara's cheek, making her giggle. Although she had regretted ever coming to the Outlands only minutes ago, she now saw that at the very least, it had led to this. And as this happened, the lionesses surrounded them both, intently wanting to see their new young pride member.

Nala kneeled down and carefully put her paw upon Kovu's back. She put her head down to him and began to nuzzle the cub as if he were one of her own. "Oh, you poor thing…" She said calmly. "Are you all right now?"

Kovu looked up to the queen and slowly nodded. "I think so. It hurts in a lot of places, though."

"Well don't worry, young cub." Simba said now. "You won't have to feel like that ever again. You're safe with us, I promise."

"I can't believe she would do that!" Timon suddenly said, hopping off of Pumbaa's head and walking closer to Kovu now. The meerkat threw his arms forth. "How could you live with her for so long, kid? I wouldn't have lasted a day!"

"More like an hour, Timon." Pumbaa muttered, which made him raise an eyebrow. "Watch it, Pumbaa, you're on thin ice as it is!"

Seeing the warthog and meerkat's brief playful banter made Kovu laugh softly, raising his spirits immensely. He looked around him to get a good look at Nala and the other three lionesses who had fought just for him. He felt unspeakably privileged for them to have done that for him.

"We had no idea things were that bad in the Outlands, Kovu." Nala said to him. "It was a good thing you told us when you did."

Kovu nodded, wiping his tears away. "T-thank you... queen Nala."

The lioness chuckled. "Just call me Nala, you don't need to call me queen every time."

Then the cub looked over to the other three, specifically the one who had ranted to Zira so fiercely about her actions. He grew a curious look. "What's your name?" He asked her.

The lioness perked up, cleared her throat and smiled. "I'm Nadra, Kovu. We're never going to hurt you, it was very wrong what Zira did to you."

The cub smiled. "I know. Thank you for… for doing that for me."

Nadra nodded. "Ah, it was my pleasure, Kovu. Zira's had that coming since before you were born anyway."

Kovu looked upon her intently. Nadra seemed to look very similar to the other two lionesses that were beside her; She had a tan-shaded pelt, a light-shaded underbelly, a light-violet colored nose, and red eyes that didn't look nearly as malicious or intense as Zira's were. Her voice was calm and soothing, once again opposite to Zira. He could feel that this lioness must have truly cared for him to say and do what she did.

Finally, Simba cleared his throat. "I think it's time we head home now. All of us."

That last part he said while glancing down to Kovu. Kiara separated from him and wiped his tears off of her shoulder. Kovu then asked, "So… where exactly is home, Simba?"

As an answer, the king stepped forth and lowered his head, motioning for Kovu and Kiara to both hop onto his back.

"Hop on, you two. I'll take you there." He said.

While it was amazing for Kovu just how fast things could go so wrong, it was even better to know how fast things could go so right.


	3. Chapter II

**Chapter II**

Simba had been kind enough to the young cub to allow him to rest on his back, so he could carry him to his apparent new home. After all that had gone down the day before, Kovu felt like he needed it dearly. Kiara, who was already growing attached to her new friend, decided to join him on his back, which Simba allowed. The king watched as Kiara allowed Kovu to rest himself against her body, placing his head against her right shoulder. He smiled at the sight. And with that, Simba and the Pride Landers slowly turned away from the swamp and began the long walk back to Pride Rock. Kovu took one last look at the spot before he sighed, shut his eyes, and whispered to himself, "Goodbye, mother…"

The youthful Outsider felt Kiara kneel down and lay on her stomach, digging into her father's fur for warmth. Kovu decided to join her, and he rested his paw against her arm, his eyes still closed. He truly felt completely exhausted, and it took him a minute to want to open his eyes again. When he did, Kovu realized that he had the chance to finally get a good look at jus what the Pride Lands actually looked like, exactly as he had wished for earlier. He had found that his world had changed forever. Below him was the soft, green savannah grass that seemed to spread out for miles, blowing in the wind sweeping against the small hills and kopjes covering the place. The scattered trees no longer appeared dry, dead and lifeless to him; but instead, they were filled with savannah leaves, plants and life as full as they could be, and the cool breeze going against his fur soothed him greatly. It wasn't cold or brisk like he was used to. He saw many flocks of birds flying above in their formations, animals dotting the savannah, plentiful as could be. Many of them he had never even seen before in such quantities, and some not at all. Zebras grazing, giraffes nipping leaves off of trees, antelope and gazelles leaping over the hills, leopards eating their prey, hippos resting in the rivers and lakes, and massive, bulky elephants keeping watch of their surroundings, as though they were guarding their territory. The sight of such a beautiful, lush land against an orange sunset sky virtually took his breath away completely.

_Even the other animals look happy_, he thought to himself.

Before he could study the place any further, Kovu faintly heard Kiara start to purr as she pressed her paw against his own, which made him look over to the princess tiredly. She was smiling at him, looking as happy as could be while she lay on her stomach beside him

"I'm glad you got out of there, Kovu." She said at length. "My daddy's going to take good care of you from now on."

Unsure of what to really say to this, Kovu simply took a deep breath and replied, "Thanks, princess."

The young Outsider cub could tell now that Kiara wasn't anything like the spoiled, selfish brat Zira said she was, nor was Simba the heartless, bloodthirsty tyrant he had been led to believe. He knew that the Pride Landers in general were not evil. The Pride Landers, who were complete strangers to him up until now, had shown him infinitely more care and protection in one hour than Zira had in her whole life of having him. True, Kiara's unusually pleasant behavior and her consistently happy mood was strange to him at first, but now he seemed to be warming up to it. It didn't feel wrong to him like Zira said it should.

Suddenly, Kovu felt Simba stop walking below him, and he perked his head up. Beyond him, he saw the other lionesses continuing to walk forth, each of them giving a look behind them.

"Simba?…" Nala said to her mate. The king simply nodded to her as she stood ahead.

"I'll take care of it." He said softly. "Tell Zazu to call for a gathering at Pride Rock for me, Nala. We need to tell the kingdom what's happened."

Nala smiled earnestly at his words, nodded, and then walked off with the other lionesses, who were all heading in the direction of Pride Rock. Once she was gone, Simba cleared his throat and lowered himself beside a flat tree stump resting about a foot off the ground. Seeing what he meant by this, Kiara stood up and went past Kovu, leaping down onto the stump. Kovu soon followed. Soon, the two cubs regained their footing and stood beside one another upon the old stump, turning around to look up to Simba again. Neither one of them could tell what he was thinking by the look on his face; He seemed confused and yet sympathetic at the same time. His eyes closed, and he took a deep breath.

"Some things really do come by surprise in life, don't they?" He began. Faintly, the lion heard Kovu say under his breath, "You can say that again…"

Kiara cleared her throat, trying to seem innocent. "Daddy…?" She started at length. Simba's eyes opened again, looking at his daughter intently.

"Kiara…" He started. "I don't know what you were thinking in heading off to the Outlands like that. You could've been killed today."

Kiara's expression almost collapsed in on itself. "I know. But daddy, I didn't mean to diso-"

"We specifically told you that the Outsiders were dangerous and out for blood in there." Simba interrupted, his voice starting to become stern. "Why did you do it, Kiara?"

He saw her composure begin to fail as a single tear fell from the corner of her left eye, and her ears drooped, looking away from her father now. "I… I just wanted to know what was else out there, daddy. It just… it looked so cool to me, and I…"

At this point, the cub's voice began to break down, sounding as though she were ready to weep. Kovu gave her an anxious look, hating to see his new friend like this. Kiara knew for certain that she was wrong in disobeying her father's direct orders to stay out of the Outlands, and the reality of what could've happened to her was only now beginning to sink in, almost as if it were a massive stone plunging to the bottom of a pond, sending ripples all across the surface of it. And Kiara felt like those ripples right then were the feeling of guilt and culpability of her actions running across her body. And this feeling was not unknown to Simba, either. His face lightening slightly, he did his best to calm himself down and take a deep breath. Reaching his paw forth, Simba placed it gently on his daughter's back, making her look up to him again.

"I know that you're curious, Kiara." The king began, hoping his daughter's tears would subside. "I was too when I was your age. But you need to be careful. I… I can't even think about what any of us would ever do if we lost you. You took a big risk in going there today."

"I know…" The princess sniffed, trying to wipe her tears off her cheek with her paw. As this went down, Simba briefly glanced over to Kovu, only to see that he had a rather surprised look on his face. He was going to question it, but decided against doing so at the last second. Then, the king reached his paw over to beneath Kiara's chin, lifting it up slightly.

"But with that said, sweetie… It would be dishonest of me to say nothing good came of it."

He looked down to Kovu again, this time keeping his eyes firmly fixed upon him. Kiara gazed over to the other cub as well, her tears finally ceasing. "If you hadn't run off the way you did, we might never have known just how bad Kovu really had it out there, and we never could've saved him."

"Yeah… I guess so." Said Kiara, lifting her head up after Simba released his paw from her once more. Finally deciding to speak to the former Outsider again, the king asked him, "How are you feeling right now, Kovu?"

It took a moment for him to think of anything to say, but eventually, he replied, "I… I don't really know. Everything just happened so fast, I still can't believe this isn't even a dream."

Simba nodded. "Well, don't worry. Maybe now things can finally slow down. What's on your mind?"

The cub took another few seconds to think before replying fearfully, "Well… I'm scared about what mother's gonna do now that I'm here. She sounded madder than ever at me. I… I think she might come to try and get me soon. I don't want her to take me back, Simba."

The lion gave the Outsider a sympathetic look before replying softly, "Listen, Kovu… You're one of us now. As long as you're on my land, I promise that I won't let her come anywhere near you. She can't hurt you now."

"You promise?"

"Absolutely." The king replied. "You're safe now, and I swear on the Great Kings themselves that you will be protected here; with us."

Kovu sniveled. "Thank you, Simba. But… it's not just me I'm worried about."

Simba raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"I have an older brother and sister back home, and mother's probably gotta be madder than ever at them. She might be taking it out on them right now, and it's because of me."

Simba's eyes widened. Tilting his head up, he whispered to himself, "Vitani?… Nuka?…"

Kovu perked up suddenly. "Wh-how do you know them?"

Simba snapped out of his thought for a moment before he looked from side to side, grew an uncomfortable look on his face and replied, "Oh, uh… Zira told me their names before the exile. But I… never met them before."

That last part he said with extreme uneasiness in his voice, sounding as though he knew something that Kovu didn't. But the cub didn't notice since he was mentally buried so deep in his thoughts.

"I don't want them to get hurt because of me." He said fearfully. Simba sighed.

"You sound like you really care about them, Kovu." He remarked. The cub nodded.

"Yeah, I do." He said earnestly. "Is… is there anything you can do for them, Simba? Like you did with me?"

Seeming to be caught off guard by the question, the king simply closed his eyes, looked past Kovu to the horizon, and fixed his gaze upon the faint, distant sight of what he could see beyond his borders. "I wish there was. But they didn't cross over here like you did, Kovu. Zira still has rightful control over them, and they're still on her land and her rule whether we like it or not."

He looked back down to Kovu, seeing that his ears were drooping. "If there were something I could do to help them, believe me, I would've done it by now, Kovu. I'm… I'm sorry."

The cub sighed, taking a look behind him to the Outlands. "It's okay… I get it." He said sadly, his mind clouded with fearful thoughts of what Nuka and Vitani could be thinking, doing or going through right then. He lowered his head in sadness, wondering if he'd ever get to see them again. It pained him to even think about the possibility of never speaking with them once more. Here, Kiara stood up and saw her friend's sorrow clear as day, and she gave him a sympathetic look. She walked over to him and pressed her head up against his chest, rubbing it against his chin for comfort. She purred when she did, not minding how scruffy or coarse his fur felt at the moment. Kovu let out a faint smile when he felt Kiara do this.

"It'll be okay, Kovu." She said as comfortingly as she could. "I think they'll be all right. At least they'd be happy for you for making it here. I know I would be if I were them."

Kovu smiled wider now. "Thanks, Kiara. I hope so."

The two cubs nuzzled gently for a moment, which made Simba grin at such a sight. Once they separated, the king cleared his throat. "Is there anything else you're thinking about, Kovu? You don't have to be afraid to tell me. But… if you don't want to talk, I'll understand."

Kovu then looked up to him intently, and said timidly, "Well… I'm afraid of what life's going to be for me now that I'm here, really."

Simba raised an eyebrow out of curiosity. "What's there to be afraid of?" He asked calmly. "I swear that as long as you're in the Pride Lands, no harm will ever come to you."

Kovu nodded. "I know, but… But what if the others don't like me? The animals here might think I'm just another dirty traitor, or that I'm some kind of liar… just like you said, we're a bunch of dangerous lions out for blood. What if they think I'm still one of them?"

Simba knew exactly what to say to this. Leaning in closer to the cub, and after a brief moment of silence, he began to stroke the back of Kovu's head and calmly ruffle his tuft of black fur with his paw, petting him in a way. Kovu listened closely as he heard the king reply, "Kovu, I promise that you'll be accepted. We're taking you to Pride Rock, our real home. As we speak, Nala's gathering everyone together so we can introduce you. I'll personally tell everyone your story, and explain to them what you told me… How you're different from the other Outsiders, yore not one of them anymore, and that you'd still be in awful pain if you hadn't come here."

He looked up to the setting sun, watching it ever so slowly fall against the horizon and the orange colored sky of twilight, now with a streak of purple up on it. He finished, "And anyone who doesn't like it is going to have to deal with me. As far as I'm concerned, you've always been a Pride Lander. You just started out in the wrong place is all."

Kovu smiled again. "Thank you, Simba."

The king looked back down to him and said calmly, "Any time, Kovu."

He then glanced over to Kiara, seeing that she was still staying very near to the cub. He said, "And maybe now you can know what it's like to grow up with some real friends here as well."

Kovu and Kiara looked at each other for a moment, their expressions seeming very pleasant towards one another. They could tell right from that period of time that they were indeed going to be very good friends. In many respects, they already were, but now they didn't have to be afraid to show it openly to whomever they pleased.

Simba cleared his throat at length. "Speaking of which… We should get going, you two. We need to tell the others about what's happened."

Knowing what the king meant, Kovu and Kiara both tensed themselves up and leapt down from the surface of the tree stump, landing besides each other in the grass. They looked ahead of them to where Simba began to walk forth. They followed him.

"Nala and Zazu probably have everyone gathered there already. We don't want to be late."

And with that, Simba, Kovu and Kiara began the walk to their real home, and to Kovu's new one, moving through the grass and occasionally taking a moment to admire the look of the beautiful sky around them. To the Outsider cub, the touch of soft grass and moist dirt pressing up against his paws with each step was immensely more comfortable than the typical dry dust and hot rocks he was used to. The grass around him felt wet and cool, and it was soothing for it to rub against his fur, damping his pelt slightly. He could already tell that he was going to like the Pride Lands a lot more than the Outlands.

As they went forth, Simba had quite a bit on his mind. Never before had he ever seen an Outsider show such concern or fear for other members of his pride. Beforehand, he had seen the Outsiders as a nearly heartless pride that showed no remorse for anything around them, and that even Vitani and Nuka had been changed to think that way in the time since the exile. But after seeing Kovu show the feelings he did just then, Simba came to realize that maybe some emotion was still left in that pride. Maybe Nuka and Vitani were still at least somewhat innocent like they were the last time he'd seen them. And then he wondered: What if the lionesses on Zira's standpoint still had soft sides to them as well? What if the entirety of the Outsider pride wasn't as wicked or corrupt as he had presumed them to be? What if his entire thought process and his prejudice against them had been wrong? What if the other Outsiders were in just as much pain as Kovu was before?

These questions ran through his mind faster than he could really comprehend, with his entire way of thinking being questioned and thrown into uncertainty. But these impressions were abruptly interrupted when he heard a long, loud gasp come from Kovu. He snapped out of his conscience and looked down to him, seeing what he was gasping at. And as soon as he saw it, Simba smiled brilliantly. He saw that, for the first time, Kovu was gazing upon the magnificent, mountainous form that was Pride Rock. It wasn't until now that it hit Simba that this cub had never seen Pride Rock before, and might never have expected such a thing to exist, even in his land.

For Kovu, surprised hardly did any justice in describing how he felt upon seeing the king's domain. He gazed at its enormous height, its majesty, the near perfect form it stood in, and the sheer look of how imposing its stone sides and promontories were. To him, it really did look like the home of a king. Kiara laughed to herself when she saw Kovu's shock and awe towards the place she had known for her whole life. She remarked to him, "Looks pretty cool, doesn't it, Kovu?"

The cub simply glanced over to her. "You live here?"

Kiara nodded. "Yep. Born and raised, too."

If Kovu didn't feel lucky to live in the Pride Lands before, he certainly did now. The initial sight of Pride Rock was so grand for the Outsider, that he didn't even notice the many hundreds of animals surrounding the front side of the base beneath the tip of it. Nala stood at the edge of the massive stone promontory, Zazu was flying up to her, and they seemed to be awaiting the arrival of their king. Simba took notice of this, and he motioned for Kovu and Kiara to follow him as he quickly went forth. They found the rocky slope-like path that led up to both the promontory and the den, and scaled it with ease. For Kovu, the rocks beneath his paws felt much cooler than the blazing hot ones he treaded across before, and he could just barely tell that they were sightly more moist and dense as well.

"You nervous, Kovu?" Kiara asked him, watching as he followed her. The cub simply replied, "Yeah, a little."

Kiara chuckled. "Don't worry. Whatever happens, at least I'll still like you."

Trying his best to clear his thoughts, Kovu looked up to see the other lionesses of Simba's pride emerging from inside the den of the place, all of them taking notice of Kovu as he and Kiara finally stepped up to the top of the slope. They watched as Simba greeted each of them and spoke to them briefly about the incident. Then they saw Timon and Pumbaa emerge from the inside, both of them looking directly at Kovu.

"How're you feeling kid?" Pumbaa asked him, though Kovu hardly heard. He replied as best as he could, "I guess I'm going to be okay."

Timon spoke up, "Hey kid… Sorry about you mom back there. You ain't alone, really. She's always been a total nut to us too."

Kovu laughed softly. "That's just being too nice right there." He remarked.

The king turned around and walked across the promontory of Pride Rock when he finished addressing the others. He went up to the very edge and stood beside Nala, looking down to see the many different animals that had been gathered there for this. At length, Simba spoke. He addressed his kingdom with confidence and power in his voice as it echoed across the place.

"Ive called each of you here to make an announcement. This was entirely unexpected and unplanned, but it has brought upon us a very lucky and fortunate event… We have a new member of the pride."

Almost instantly, the cheers and happy, thunderous roars of the animals echoed below him. Simba continued as the crowd died down, "Listen, listen! Nala and I aren't expecting another cub; This isn't the usual kind of new addition to the royal family we've always had, but first I must explain. Earlier today, the princess wandered out across the borders and went into the Outlands."

Kiara blushed in embarrassment when her father mentioned this, knowing that the whole kingdom knew about her mistake now. "Way to keep a secret, dad…"

"While there, she met an Outsider cub, named Kovu." Simba went on. "His adoptive mother, Zira, came for them just at the same time I and a few others did. We were about to go our separate ways, when suddenly, Kovu came forth and told me… Something that likely has changed the course of his life."

The Pride Landers all noticed that Simba's voice began to become a bit more strained here, as though he was reluctant to share this with them. But he pushed through with it nonetheless. "Kovu has been horribly abused by his mother much… _much_ worse than any of us could've anticipated. He's been beaten senselessly, pushed beyond his physical limits, forced to hunt and kill when he didn't want to, he's been sleep deprived, and he's nearly starved to death more than once just for trying to earn Zira's love. In short, he was living in the worst possible environment for any cub to ever be raised in."

The crowd of animals became deathly silent as Simba took a moment to catch his breath. If there way anything they could've expected their king to say, it was anything but this.

Simba went on, "And I know that I myself am partially responsible for his suffering for exiling Zira in the first place. And although I stand by my word that her banishment was justified, this young cub does not deserve to be blamed for a crime he didn't commit."

He looked up to the sky as he said this next part. "And that's why I did something I never thought I would do for an Outsider before today: I took him in from Zira. He's with me… no… He's with _us_ now."

Instantly, confused chatter rose up from the animals beneath him. Not wanting any confusion or misunderstandings to arise, Simba clarified. "Kovu came to me, begging for his life to be taken away from his mother so he could live here with us. When he did so, Zira proceeded to beat him right in front of us. Nala, several lionesses and I are the witnesses to his abuse, and that's how we know for certain that Kovu was telling the truth. So on his request, I took him and protected him as we finally got him away from Zira, and ended his suffering like he wanted."

The king cleared his throat before he finally finished speaking. "And I sincerely consider Kovu to be one of us now. He is a Pride Lander, the same as all of you. I ask that you all try your best to accept this brave, strong cub and understand why what happened happened the way it did. He has been put through enough suffering to last a lifetime for anyone, let alone for a cub. I ask that even though he was a part of our enemy pride at one time, you don't make his suffering last any longer now."

And with that, silence fell upon them all. A gentle breeze blew through the air, ruffling Simba's mane slightly. Nala seemed uncertain of what to expect from the animals, while Kovu himself was standing up near the den and waiting for a reaction. And a reaction was exactly what he was about to get.

"And now… It's time that I present to you all the cub we managed to save."

He turned around and unexpectedly said over to him, "Come over here, Kovu. It's time we show them who you really are."

Nervously, the Outsider cub gulped and stepped forth across the stone promontory of Pride Rock, coming ever closer to the very tip of it that he had so wondrously marveled at only minutes before. Finally stepping in between Simba and Nala, Kovu gazed down at all the zebras, giraffes, elephants, antelope and cheetahs that were staring at him intently. He seemed scared of showing himself in front of so many of them, but he knew that this would be the best way to prevent any problems or misunderstandings of him being there in the future. He was about to say something to see what would happen (If anything at all), but before he could, he suddenly heard the thunderous cheers from before beginning to build back up. It started softly, with a few zebras clomping around with their hooves with excitement, but soon, the elephants joined in. Then came in the cheers of the giraffes, the sounds of the elephants, the happy roars of the cheetahs, and the acclimation of the antelope. All of them echoed through the air around them, wailing with joy and acceptance as loud as could be. It was almost too overwhelming for Kovu to see this happen, really. Not twelve hours ago, he was living in one of the most desolate stretches of land that the entire continent had to offer, and now here he was, watching the wails of acceptance and happiness resonate just for him by an entire kingdom he had only just been taken into. And with that, Kovu couldn't help but let out the absolute most vibrant and brilliant smile he had ever made. His mouth fell open, and he gaped with glee when he watched the whole kingdom cheer him on. He felt as though he were about to cry with joy again, and it took every ounce of strength he still had to prevent himself from doing so. His fears had been put to rest. He was now officially an accepted Pride Lander.

The young cub's thoughts were interrupted when he heard Simba speak again, making the crowd below them become silent again. "And as a Pride Lander, Kovu must be raised, cared for, and loved as best as we can possibly offer after what he's suffered. That is why I've decided something: Kovu will be accepted not only as a Pride Lander, but as my new adopted son."

Kovu's eyes shot open and bulged as wide as they could go. He turned around and gasped happily, saying "What? You mean it?"

Simba nodded. "Unless anyone else in the pride would want to take him in as their own, I am more than willing to-"

"Wait! Simba!" They heard a voice suddenly shout from behind. Abruptly turning around, Simba, Nala and Kovu saw one of the lionesses of the pride running right up to them as fast as she could. It took the king and queen a moment to tell who she was, but Kovu recognized her by her voice almost immediately: It was Nadra, the same lioness who had bravely stood up for him earlier.

"I'll take him in, king Simba!" Nadra said, sounding eager and out of breath. "I'll do it! I'll take Kovu to be my son!"

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: I would like to give special thanks and credit to Autobot00001, for helping me work out the dialogue exchange near the beginning of this chapter. He's been a huge help in making this whole story a reality. And no need to worry, all the questions you readers might have about this will be <strong>**answered by the end of the story. Hope you like it, and please review!**


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